98% of Devon, Cornwall Waters Meet Minimum Standard

Sampling has been carried out by the Environment Agency at every monitored site between May and September and each monitored bathing water's classification updated to reflect the latest four years of data. This means:

• four in every five sites (82%) meet the classification for 'Excellent'
• the second highest number of sites (13%) achieved a classification of 'Good'
• only 3% of sites were given a classification of 'Sufficient'
• just 2% of sites failed to meet minimum standard and classified as 'Poor'

Bruce Newport, area environment manager, said:

We've taken thousands of samples from Devon and Cornwall's 155 monitored bathing waters this summer.

Our sampling results drive investment across all sectors based on a four-year period of consistent results. They are not designed to give instant information about if it's safe to swim.

What we do is to take a long-term view on how clean beaches and rivers are so people can make an informed choice where to bathe.

This year 5 beaches in Devon and Cornwall improved their bathing water classification, with 3 of the new estuarine sites meeting minimum standard and above.

Those improving from 'Good' to 'Excellent' are Hollicombe, Long Rock, Paignton Sands and Porthminster. Improving from 'Sufficient' to 'Good' is Goodrington.

Devon's first non-coastal monitored bathing waters were designated earlier this year and receive their first classification based on one season's worth of sampling, instead of the typical 4 years of data. These were all in the Dart Estuary and include Steamer Quay (Poor), Stoke Gabriel (Sufficient), Dittisham (Good) and Warfleet Creek (Excellent). Coastguards Beach at Erme Estuary was also a new site and classed as 'Poor'.

Changing from 'Excellent' to 'Good' are Kingsand and Wembury.

Two monitored bathing waters where consistently good water quality is a result of community effort are Combe Martin in Devon and East Looe in Cornwall. Both locations have active groups that work closely with the Environment Agency, water company and others to maintain and improve their sites.

Combe Martin was previously 'Poor' in 2019. Local efforts to reduce litter, dog fouling and secure improvements saw it rise to 'Sufficient' in 2021 and then 'Good' in 2022, which has been maintained since. AI signage is currently being trialed to encourage more intelligence gathering from all visitors .

A history of disappointing bathing water classifications inspired Looe's residents to make improvements. Water company investment has seen overflows drop to permitted levels. Farm campaigns by agency officers have reduced pollution and enforcement taken against a waste site at the catchment's headwaters. Monitoring shows that Looe remains 'Good'.

The 2024 statistics on English coastal and inland bathing waters follow testing by the Environment Agency at 450 sites regularly used by swimmers throughout the summer, including 27 new sites designated earlier this year. These tests monitor for sources of pollution known to be a risk to bathers' health, specifically E. coli and intestinal enterococci.

In total, 92% of bathing waters in England have met minimum water quality standards, with 85% of bathing waters being rated as 'Good' or 'Excellent'.

The proportion of 'Good' and 'Excellent' rated sites has fallen slightly, in part due to the existing water quality of the 27 new bathing water sites designated this year, 18 of which are classified as 'Poor'. This is not unexpected, as the new sites have not been managed for bathing before, and it takes time to understand and tackle the sources of pollution affecting them.

Without the newly designated bathing waters, 95% of sites would meet minimum standards this year, only slightly down from 96% last year.

Background

• Last year's statistics showed that 96% of England's bathing water sites met the minimum standard of Sufficient, while 90% met the highest standards of Good and Excellent.
• 450 bathing waters in England were sampled this year and have been classified as either Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor. These classifications and information about water quality will be displayed at each bathing water and on bathing water profiles available to access on the Environment Agency's Swimfo website.
• The bathing water season runs from May to September every year. The Environment Agency took 7,420 samples during the 2024 bathing season. The Environment Agency takes up to 20 water samples at each of England's designated bathing waters during the season.
• The sampling programme is set ahead of the start of season to avoid bias and follows a strict protocol to ensure samples are taken consistently in terms of depth of water, location where most bathers are expected and also covering a range of tidal states where safe to sample.
• Other factors which influence bathing water quality can include tides, and physical or environmental changes at a site, with every catchment affected differently.
• Our standards for bathing waters come from guidelines produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and are science based. They have been adopted by many countries through the EU Bathing Water Directive, which England's Bathing Water Regulations are based on.